Calling all Brits...

[mgargan1]

I'm having a debate with a friend, who says that the Geico Gecko's voice isn't British. But, i'm trying to explain that there are different types of British accents.

So, my question to all you across the pond would be, what kind of accent does Jake Wood (the voice of the gecko) have?

 

[Unspoken Demise]

Not a Brit, however I believe it is British. Im no linguist, but it certainly sounds British to me.

 

[johnrs]

I would say yes it is. Its sounds like a poor cockney accent...

 

[iBlue]

Have a specific link?

I found this one and he is English, specifically he sounds a bit London-cockney to me.

P.S. I'm not british, I just live here.

 

[rdowns]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GEICO_ad_campaigns

 

[Keniff]

I would say yes it is. Its sounds like a poor cockney accent...

Definitely British, but to say he's a Cockney is another thing....
Southern eastern British, for sure

 

[OllyW]

He's a Londoner so the voice sounds right.

 

[mgargan1]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKPXvqBKs64&NR=1

 

[iBlue]

^ Sounds like a Londoner to me. (but not all born and bred londoners speak that way, just to confuse you)

There are so many different accents over here. Very interesting actually to see how much they change even going just 60-70 miles in another direction.

 

[Prof.]

I always thought it was an Aussie accent.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

It definitely sounds South Eastern to me, possibly London but I wouldn't be 100% certain.

All Sarvarners sound the same to me.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

I'd say London, as well.

It always surprises me that so many (almost all) Americans I met thought I was Australian, even though I talk with a Surrey/London accent.

Do people from New York sound the same as people from Georgia?

 

[swiftaw]

^ Sounds like a Londoner to me. (but not all born and bred londoners speak that way, just to confuse you)

There are so many different accents over here. Very interesting actually to see how much they change even going just 60-70 miles in another direction.

Try more like 15-20 miles.

I was born and raised in Wigan, 20 miles east of Liverpool. People from Liverpool have a very distinctive ('Scouse') accent. I definitely do not.

 

[mgargan1]

I'd say London, as well.

It always surprises me that so many (almost all) Americans I met thought I was Australian, even though I talk with a Surrey/London accent.

Do people from New York sound the same as people from Georgia?

Well... lets change the question a bit.

Does the New York accent sound the same as a Georgian?

No, they do not... however, there is really one unifying accent throughout the states. It's generally the accent that TV people have.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UgpfSp2t6k

 

[Zombie Acorn]

I don't think the midwest US has an accent.

 

[Jaffa Cake]

I don't think the midwest US has an accent.

Everywhere has an accent.

Try more like 15-20 miles.

I was born and raised in Wigan, 20 miles east of Liverpool. People from Liverpool have a very distinctive ('Scouse') accent. I definitely do not.

It's said that you used to be able to tell if someone was from east or west Hull purely by their accent – and we're only a relatively small city.

The thing you mention with the Liverpool accent – that it's heavily localised and quite different from the accents spoken in the city's hinterland – is also true of other cities. The Hull accent differs quite a bit from that spoken in East Yorkshire, for example.

 

[0098386]

I love how accents are so localised in the UK. Just today I was with a bunch of my relatives who hail from all over the north of England. People from the same town had slightly different accents and was fun trying to work out where bits of each accent came from. Even my siblings have different accents because we went to different schools just a few miles apart. Well I think its interesting .

Definitely somewhere darn sarf. Round about London.

 

[skunk]

Estuary English, wivout a doubt, innit?

 

[Zombie Acorn]

I love how accents are so localised in the UK. Just today I was with a bunch of my relatives who hail from all over the north of England. People from the same town had slightly different accents and was fun trying to work out where bits of each accent came from. Even my siblings have different accents because we went to different schools just a few miles apart. Well I think its interesting .

Definitely somewhere darn sarf. Round about London.

You guys all sound the same to us.

 

[instaxgirl]

I love how accents are so localised in the UK.

Me too

I just moved across to Austria and one of my lecturers hearing me speaking English with an Irish girl came over and was like "you have trouble understanding what the other's saying, yes?" and when we said that we could understand each other just fine he was amazed He seemed to think that people wander round the UK in constant need of an interpreter.

And sounds London/southern England to me.

 

[SpookTheHamster]

Me too

I just moved across to Austria and one of my lecturers hearing me speaking English with an Irish girl came over and was like "you have trouble understanding what the other's saying, yes?" and when we said that we could understand each other just fine he was amazed He seemed to think that people wander round the UK in constant need of an interpreter.

And sounds London/southern England to me.

I went out with a group of Austrians recently while on holiday and talk turned to a similar subject. Apparently it is not uncommon for people from a village to speak a dialect so dramatically different to even their closest villages that it is almost impossible for them to understand each other.

 

[instaxgirl]

I went out with a group of Austrians recently while on holiday and talk turned to a similar subject. Apparently it is not uncommon for people from a village to speak a dialect so dramatically different to even their closest villages that it is almost impossible for them to understand each other.

Yeah seems so (not encouraging for me! It took me weeks to understand the local accent). That lecturer was Austrian but also spoke fluent Hungarian and it seemed to be a big problem there too, and he mentioned a few other countries.

He was VERY surprised that myself, some English girls, the Irish girl, a couple of Americans from several states and a guy from Australia could all understand one another no problem.

 

[Signal-11]

He was VERY surprised that myself, some English girls, the Irish girl, a couple of Americans from several states and a guy from Australia could all understand one another no problem.

It's not all that surprising at all, if you think about it. Due to the history of it's spread and it's use as the modern lingua franca, English in all it's forms is much more homogeneous than most others. In the strict linguistic sense, it's hard to point to a real, major, differentiated dialect.

Layer on modern Hollywood and American cultural influence, it should be no surprise most Americans are easily understood by most English speakers.

Now understand Scots, on the other hand, can be a chore. Especially the Glaswegians. I nominate Glascow as the home of the most incomprehensible English pronunciation ever.

And yeah, Austrian German can be weird. The first German I learned was a Bavarian German, so it wasn't so bad, but street signs and ordering food can get confusing even if Gruss Gott is a natural greeting for you.

 

[iBlue]

I always thought it was an Aussie accent.

LOL! Not even close!

Try more like 15-20 miles.

I was born and raised in Wigan, 20 miles east of Liverpool. People from Liverpool have a very distinctive ('Scouse') accent. I definitely do not.

Definitely. I did underestimate that rather a lot.

...
Now understand Scots, on the other hand, can be a chore. Especially the Glaswegians. I nominate Glascow as the home of the most incomprehensible English pronunciation ever.
...

I don't have any trouble with that one. In fact I think glaswegian accents are totally hot. I could listen to the likes of Billy Connolly reading me the phone book. RAWR!

 

[instaxgirl]

Now understand Scots, on the other hand, can be a chore. Especially the Glaswegians. I nominate Glascow as the home of the most incomprehensible English pronunciation ever.

And yeah, Austrian German can be weird. The first German I learned was a Bavarian German, so it wasn't so bad, but street signs and ordering food can get confusing even if Gruss Gott is a natural greeting for you.

Me and my friend turned up and were like what's this something Gott thing they keep saying?! We were not at home with Austrian German

Glaswegian doesn't cause me a problem, it gets so much more interesting the farther North you go in Scotland. My current favourite's the accent of a friend from Fraserburgh. I'm good with the Scottish accent but his is mental I generally look to his girlfriend for translation about 3 times a week